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Unable to find a compromise to speed up humanitarian aid to Gaza, the United Nations Security Council postponed voting on a resolution to “suspend” hostilities.
Published on December 19, 2023 10:38 p.m
Reading time: 2 minutes
Destroyed buildings in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, December 19, 2023. (MOHAMMED ZAANOUN / MIDDLE EAST IMAGES / AFP)
The Israeli army continued its bombing and ground operations in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, December 19, despite ongoing international pressure to spare civilians in the besieged Palestinian territories. Here's what to remember from this day of conflict.
According to Unicef, Gaza is the “most dangerous place in the world” for a child
The U.N. agency's spokesman, James Elder, said during a news conference in Geneva after returning from Palestinian territory that he was “angry that those in power are shrugging their shoulders at the humanitarian nightmares inflicted on a million children.” He added that Gaza's largest functioning hospital was “bombed twice” and houses “a large number of children (…), but also hundreds of women and children seeking protection.” Gaza is the “most dangerous place in the world” for a child, he said.
According to AFP correspondents, there were renewed attacks on Rafah and Khan Younes in the south of the Palestinian enclave and in the central Gaza Strip on the night of Monday to Tuesday. Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, one of the last remaining operating hospitals in northern Gaza, ceased operations on Tuesday after it was stormed by the Israeli army, its director said.
Calls for appeasement are getting louder and louder
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Tuesday called on the Israeli military to take a “more surgical, clinical and targeted approach” against Hamas and urged it to “minimize civilian casualties.” During his visit to Tel Aviv on Monday, the American defense secretary also called for the delivery of “more humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip” while assuring that the United States would continue to provide the military “equipment” necessary for the Israeli army.
Although trucks carrying aid and goods were still entering the area on Tuesday through the Rafah border crossings via Egypt and Kerem Shalom in southern Israel, these deliveries fall far short of meeting the population's most basic needs.
Security Council postpones vote on 'suspended' hostilities
Unable to find a compromise on a resolution to speed up humanitarian aid to Gaza, the United Nations Security Council has again postponed voting on a text calling for a “suspendion” of hostilities in the Palestinian territories.
The negotiations continue to allow the Council to speak with one voice. On December 8, the United States blocked the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.